KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign-registered vehicles detected to have fuelled up with subsidised RON95 petrol should be blacklisted from entering Malaysia, says a government backbencher.
Jimmy Puah Wee Tse (PH-Tebrau) proposed that such vehicles be blacklisted for a period of two years.
He further suggested amending existing legislation to penalise vehicle owners instead of only holding petrol station operators liable.
“This is not a matter of discrimination. All Malaysians and foreign nationals in our country must adhere to the law,” he said when debating the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Jan 21).
Puah said the government should also consider installing clear signage at land entry points stating that foreign-registered vehicles can only refuel using the unsubsidised RON97 petrol.
On Jan 3, a man was captured on video pumping subsidised RON95 fuel into a Singapore-registered car with its registration number partially covered with black tape.
When the clip went viral, the car owner, a permanent resident of Singapore, was reported to have surrendered at the Kulai district police headquarters in Johor to assist with investigations.
In September last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the price of RON95 petrol would be reduced to RM1.99 per litre, down from RM2.05 per litre.
The measure, effective Sept 30 last year, is under the Budi95 targeted subsidy scheme.
Only Malaysians with active driving licences are eligible to purchase RON95 petrol at subsidised prices.
